Senator Smart Adeyemi on Thursday restated his belief
in democracy, as he also debunked a statement credited to him that military government
is better than the democratically elected government.
In a statement signed by his legislative aide,
Olowo Cornelius, which was made available to journalists in Lokoja, the senator
was said to have been quoted out context that "military government is
better than a democratic government."
The part of the statement read: "One would
have ordinarily ignored this attempt to deliberately misrepresent the people's senator,
considering the section of the online media where the news emanated from, who
their principal is, and the injuries they are still nursing from their losses
in the recent Kogi West senatorial election; however, their situation can be
understood.
“Our knowledge of the fact that Nigerians and
particularly the media sector knows Adeyemi
as an astute journalist and a fearless labour leader with indelible
records of struggle against the military government, and even now as a serving
ranking senator, he is too knowledgeable, exposed and mature to make such
careless statement.
"But for the purpose of setting the record
straight for posterity, I wish to clarify here that what Adeyemi said on the
floor of the Senate was that ‘truncating the wish of the people by not allowing
their votes to count in elections is worse than a military takeover’.
"He said this as a contribution to a
discussion on a bill to curtail the devastating effects of electoral violence
and election rigging.
"It is known globally that the hallmark of
democracy is free and fair elections, but this cannot be said of some of our
previous elections in which politicians of questionable characters whose
adoption of the do-or-die approach to elections have resulted in pandemonium,
arson, killings and maiming, even the killing of security agents and youth corps
members as well as the robbery of the people's mandates at gun point. Where
free and fair election is lacking, such situation is worse than a military
government.
"In Nigeria today, hardly can election be
held, even for positions as small as councillorship, without recording
casualties. This cannot be encouraged nor allowed to continue as the wish of
the people as regarding who leads or represents them, which must be respected.
If only we want as a nation to continue to enjoy the grace and favour of God
and the goodwill of the committee of nations. We must know that God will fight
for the helpless and common man when criminal-minded politicians continue to
trample upon their rights in their helpless situation.
"We must know that distinguished Senator Smart
Adeyemi was himself a victim of electoral fraud and rigging, and recently he
was personally made to know and experience the pains of election rigging, so he
spoke from a position of personal experience.”
He added that “Nigerians must wake up to the fact
that when leaders obtain their electoral mandates legally from the people,
their interest and loyalty are to the people, but when electoral mandates are
criminally obtained from thuggery and weapons, definitely their loyalty and
commitments will be to the thugs and their weapons.”
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